Integrated Oncology Elective
ME 515M.21
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Overview of the Elective: Oncology is a special discipline within medicine, blending personal patient relationships with groundbreaking science and collaborative care. For future oncologists and non-oncologists alike, an oncology rotation offers the chance to build close patient relationships, improve communication skills, apply science to the bedside, and witness interprofessional care at its best.
Dana Farber offers several different Hematology-Oncology electives for advanced clerkship students. This specific elective, the Longitudinal Integrated Oncology elective, allows students to experience the multidisciplinary nature of oncology care through the lens of the patient. During the elective, students will build their “own” small cohort of patients and will walk with their patients through 4-weeks of their oncology journeys. Students will meet their patients at a critical point in care, including initial diagnosis, start of treatment …, and will accompany their patients to each of their oncology-related visits and procedures over the 4 weeks. Students will also be expected to interface with radiology and pathology to support the patient’s care.
By centering the elective around a small cohort of patients, students will have the opportunity to form profound connections with patients and their families and to make a substantial impact in a patient’s care. Students will also be exposed to the range of specialties within oncology and to the importance of multidisciplinary oncology care.
Elective Structure: In week 1 of the elective, students will be assigned to eight half-days of outpatient oncology clinics including cancer diagnostic clinics, solid oncology clinics, and radiation oncology clinics. During these clinics, students will work directly with a combination of attending physicians, fellows, and residents and will be expected to take the lead on two patient visits per half-day. The student will draw their “own” cohort of patients from the patients they meet during these clinics in the first week.
At the end of this first week, students will meet with the elective director. Together, the students and elective director will review the patients from the first week to build a cohort of 6-8 patients that the student will follow moving forward. Following this meeting, students will reach out to each of their cohort of patients and request permission to follow them for the duration of the elective.
In weeks 2-4 of the elective, students will then follow their patients to each of their oncologic appointments. This will include surgical procedures, radiographic imaging, medical oncology visits, radiation oncology visits, surgical oncology visits, medical subspecialty visits … as appropriate. Students will also be expected to review relevant patient radiology and pathology with radiology and pathology attendings. If there is a half-day where none of their patients have an appointment, students will then be assigned to an outpatient oncology clinic.
Didactic Structure: During the elective, students will meet with the elective director 1-2 times per week. These meetings will include an introduction to the elective, creation of the patient cohort, and a weekly review of the patient cohort. Students will also participate in multidisciplinary conferences where their patients are discussed and twice weekly hematology-oncology teaching sessions that are held for all advanced clerkship students at Dana Farber. These teaching sessions for advanced clerkship students will focus on foundational aspects of oncology care as well to learn as career trajectories within oncology.
Not Available for Cross Registration
